Offensively in Clemson’s 72-41 win over Loyola Maryland on Monday night, a key player for the Tigers was senior guard Alex Hemenway, who had a perfect field-goal percentage, scoring on all five of his shots including three 3-pointers.
When asked about his offensive success, Hemenway, who finished with 13 points, responded, “My teammates do a great job of finding me when I’m open and just getting that first look going down, and it’s just great for shooters like me to see that.”
Highlighting the depth of Clemson’s bench, freshman RJ Godfrey scored his first career points, continuing on to finish the game with seven points, two rebounds, one assist and one steal.
“It was great,” Godfrey said. “We practice together every day, fight against the starters every day. It was real fun running with Dill (Dillon Hunter) and Wiggs (Chauncey Wiggins).”
Godfrey continued on to share the impact of graduate forward Hunter Tyson.
“We talk about coverages and plays every single day, even after practice,” Godfrey said. “So I would say that’s my mentor right now.”
As a freshman, Godfrey believes he is still progressing as a player.
“I still have a lot more to learn and a lot more to grow from,” he said.
One of the biggest things is details.
“Positioning, especially on defense,” he said. “I’m still just trying to get in the right position every possession and just play hard every possession.”
With tournament play coming up, Hemenway discussed the Tigers’ confidence in the momentum being built.
“We’ve been working hard in practice,” he said. “Defensively, offensively…Offense has been pretty good the past few games, and just cleaning up a lot of things on the defensive end.”
Defensively, the Tigers were dominant Monday night, allowing only 14 points in the first half while holding Loyola to a 28.8 shooting percentage for the game and causing 18 turnovers that the Tigers transformed into 16 points.
Clemson (4-1) faces off against Iowa at 7 p.m. Friday on CBS Sports Network in the Emerald Coast Classic in Niceville, Fla.
